I have a question on "old" ph test strip papers

Submitted by mrcobaltblue79 on 10/26/04 at 2:07 PM. ( ) 209.174.158.71

Hi,

I have a couple of tubes of the ph test strips papers. They are less that a year old. I have them stored in my basement. Here is the problem - they are starting to turn a yellow color in the tube (I would assume that this discoloration is from the humidity in the basement).

What I want to know is - are they still good for testing ph or will this discoloration throw off the ph reading. I don't want to ruin any capes by using something that will not register the ph correctly.

Secondly, I would like to know how some of you store your ph test papers for a longer period of time and how you would keep this discoloration from happening to yours. I thought about storing them in the deep freeze as it is very dry and dark in there. Do you think that storing them in the deep freeze is okay?

Thanks in advance for you help,

Mark

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Buy some more

This response submitted by Mr. T on 10/26/04 at 7:35 PM. ( ) 64.31.6.225

For the price of new strips, why try to risk using the tainted ones?
Try keeping them dry in a Ziploc Bag? Or keep them somewhere with low humidity, maybe upstairs? The deep freezer has moisture and frost inside, paper will wick up the moisture, and when you take the paper out, it will warm up and be limp with moisture and an incorrect reading you may get. Get some new ones and keep them dry.


It's the chemical in them, not the color

This response submitted by George on 10/26/04 at 9:10 PM. ( georoof@aol.com ) 205.188.116.130

I have a vial of them I bought about 30 years ago. They are yellow on the ends and orange in the center, but when they come in contact with an acid or a base, they still turn the proper colors.


i have noticed....

This response submitted by Griz on 10/26/04 at 11:11 PM. ( ) 69.66.87.71

if you let them dry out they return to orange and you can reuse them and they are perfectly accurate. No kidding, but i don't trust it, and use a new one everytime, but thought that may lend a little confidence to ya.


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